Burnout in Healthcare: How Depersonalization and Dissociation Manifest, and How to Overcome Them

Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast

David J Puder

Science, Health & Fitness, Medicine

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, we explore the emotional toll of burnout on healthcare professionals with Dr. Jessi Gold, a psychiatrist and Chief Wellness Officer at the University of Tennessee System. Burnout often manifests as depersonalization—a form of emotional detachment that shields clinicians from the relentless trauma they witness. Dr. Gold delves into how this protective mechanism can lead to emotional numbness, distancing healthcare workers from their patients and even themselves.

We discuss the concept of alexithymia, where prolonged detachment causes clinicians to lose touch with their own emotions, making it challenging to process trauma or empathize with patients. Dr. Gold offers practical strategies for overcoming burnout, such as early intervention, therapy, setting emotional boundaries, and advocating for systemic change within healthcare institutions. Tune in to learn how reconnecting with the meaning behind their work can help clinicians rediscover a sense of purpose and resilience in their careers.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Music
0:14.0	Alright, welcome back to the podcast. I am joined with Dr. Jesse Gold. She is a psychiatrist,
0:20.1	chief wellness officer, and practicing clinician at University of Tennessee.
0:26.9	And you've been in practice for, it sounds like about 10 years, is that right?
0:30.7	Yeah, if you count residency, I tend to count residency though, so yeah.
0:34.4	Yeah, well, I sometimes count the last two years at medical school because it's like
0:39.2	you're seeing patients, you know, 80 to 100 hours a week, you should get credit for that,
0:44.0	right? That's fair.
0:45.6	So I graduated med school in 2014, so I guess, you know, give myself two more years.
0:49.8	I'm going to do it a little more than that then.
0:52.4	Okay.
0:53.4	Nice.
0:54.4	And so you wrote a book recently called How Do You Feel?
0:58.2	And if you're on YouTube, you can see a nice little picture of that in her background.
1:01.7	And you can see all of her diplomas. I want to share my initial reactions.
1:09.1	I mean, this is a very personal book to you.
1:11.2	Tells your story a lot.
1:12.9	It also shares a lot of story of clinicians, physicians that you treat and like I'm reading
1:19.4	it and I know that you are like the real thing.
1:23.6	You are really in the trenches through COVID
1:26.4	and through just like, gosh, all of the,
1:29.6	like you see it all.
	...

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